


Not Just Different, Better

by AOO



Category: Ylvis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Brother Feels, Flu, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-04 21:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AOO/pseuds/AOO
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bård is trying to take care of Vegard but, as is often the case, the flu is very contagious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Rumour Has It](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1067347) by [QueensJenn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueensJenn/pseuds/QueensJenn). 
  * Inspired by [Dramatic Irony](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1070121) by [QueensJenn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueensJenn/pseuds/QueensJenn). 



> This is set after Rumour Has It by QueensJenn which is set after  
> the "Tegneseriemannen" of Norges Herligste.

Wiping the steam from the mirror, Bård looked at himself for the first time today. He thought he looked a little tired, but who wouldn't be after the day they'd had yesterday. The interview was a nightmare, easily the worst one they'd ever had on Norges Herligste and that was before you even took into consideration how sick Vegard had been while they were there. And then there was drive after the shoot which was cut short because his brother had continued to get sick. Hopefully that was over. He hated it when Vegard was sick.

Bård came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. It was pretty unusual for him to be the first one out of the shower when traveling with his brother, much less the first one up, but he had tried to let Vegard sleep a little longer since he had been so sick yesterday. He placed a hand on Vegard’s forehead to check for a fever and was pleased to find that the fever had broken. Bård stood over his sleeping brother for a moment, not really wanting to disturb him, but it had to be done. He gently shook Vegard’s shoulder. “Hey, time to hit the road.”

Vegard answered with a groan and the pulling of a pillow up over his head. _Hmm, this must be what Vegard feels like when he has to wake me._ “C’mon, don’t be like that. Who does that to someone who is waking them up so nicely?” Vegard pulled the pillow off his head and flipped him off. “You do, as I recall.” Bård laughed. “What’s this? Are we grumpy?”

“No, I just thought you might as well get the full picture of what it’s like to try to wake you up.” Bård laughed again and pulled his boxers on. He walked around the room trying to remember where he’d thrown his jeans.

“Oh, well thanks. Who doesn’t like a little theater in the morning.” Bård found his jeans and pulled them on.

“Do I really have to get up? I just want to sleep twenty more minutes.” Vegard was repositioning himself in the bed and fluffing his pillow as if he were about to take a nap.

“Yes, you have to get up. We’ve still got seven hours of driving left.” He was looking through his bag for the striped sweater. “I mean, **I** have seven hours of driving left.”

“How about ten minutes?” Vegard’s eyes were closed and he looked way too comfortable.

“The film crew is waiting for us.” _There it is._ He pulled the sweater on and took a look around the room for his shoes.

“Five minutes, then.”

Bård let out a sigh. “I really **am** annoying in the morning.” _How did this shoe end up over here?_

“What?” Vegard looked confused.

Bård laughed. “Oh, you were serious. I thought you were still doing your impression of me.” He took a good look at Vegard all cosy and warm in the bed.

Vegard smiled a little at that and closed his eyes again.

Bård went over to the bed, quickly grabbed Vegard’s blankets and pulled them off of him, a move that Vegard often made when trying to get him moving. “Look, you’ve got seven hours to sleep in the car. We need to get going.”

“Fine!” Vegard sat up, grabbed the blankets and pulled them back up to his neck as he laid back down.

He snickered to himself. _Nice finishing touch, Vegard._  “I’m going down to get some breakfast. Do you feel like eating anything yet?”

“Maybe a little toast, and I’d like some tea.”

“Alright, I’ll place the order. I’m trusting you to get out of bed.” He purposely said that last sentence in a parental tone.

“Well, now you’re starting to sound like me,” Vegard said, laughing. “Do I really sound that patronizing?”

Bård smiled at him. “Not always.”

* * *

 

Vegard managed to eat part of his toast and had a second cup of tea. Bård was relieved to see that he was feeling well enough to eat. They checked out of the hotel and got on the road only fifteen minutes later than Bård had hoped. Within minutes of getting back on the highway Vegard was leaning against a pillow in the passenger seat fast asleep.

After two and a half hours of driving Bård stopped to get gas and a snack. Vegard was sleeping so peacefully that he didn’t want to wake him. About twenty minutes after that stop the first waves of nausea hit him. Within ten minutes he had pulled over to the side of the road and was losing the snack and most of his breakfast.

Fortunately, there were a few bottled waters in the back of the van so he was able to rinse out his mouth and have a small drink of water. He got back in the van and noted that he hadn’t disturbed Vegard. _No need to wake him up for that. There must have been something wrong with that gas station food._

Unfortunately, half an hour later the nausea returned, and again in another half an hour. The third time he threw up he felt like everything had to be out of his stomach and was hopeful that he was over the worst of it.

As he drove, he was looking all over the front of the van for some sunglasses. He found a pair of Vegard’s, his favorite pair, stashed away above the visor. It occurred to him that Vegard would be annoyed if he used them, but the glare from the sun was really bothering his eyes. _And besides, I’m doing all the driving so he can sleep. He owes me._

They were starting to fall way behind the schedule that Bård had agreed on with their director, due to the all the additional unplanned stops for Bård’s uncooperative stomach. Bård called the waiting camera crew and was able to contact the sound man. He was feeling a little better after the last time he’d gotten sick and so he was hopeful that they would finally be on their way without interruption. They made a revised plan for the afternoon taping.

It was well past noon and driving was beginning to feel more taxing than it had in the morning. Bård wasn’t used to driving on these long road trips. Vegard always preferred to drive and Bård was more than happy to let him. He assumed that he was just getting tired of driving at first, but then realized that he was starting to feel achy all over and that the feeling of too much glare had turned into a full fledged headache. Worst of all, the nausea returned stronger than ever. He was having to stop more frequently to throw up, only now it was more of a dry heave.

Finally, Vegard woke up to the slam of a car door. Looking up he saw Bård dashing in front of the van wearing his favorite sunglasses. As he watched him run to the side of the road, he wondered why Bård always had to borrow his things. His annoyance faded as he watched him bend over to throw up. He was surprised by what he was seeing and, having just woken up, it took him a little while to react. When Bård tried to stand up he looked like he was going to fall over and had to crouch down again. Vegard got out of the van.

“Bård?”

Bård moaned.

Vegard came over and crouched down beside him, placing a hand on his back. “Do you have the flu now, too?”

“I guess...I’ve thrown up 6 or 7 times.”

Bård looked very pale and Vegard could feel that he was quite warm. “Do you want to come sit in the van?” There was no reply at first and then, finally, a nod. They walked back to the van and Vegard opened the sliding side door. Bård sat down on the edge and Vegard opened up the back to find some bottled water.

Sitting with his head in his hands Bård said quietly, “I don’t know how much farther I can drive.”

Vegard was checking his GPS and trying to figure out how far they’d have to drive to catch up to the film crew. He set a bottled water next to Bård. “That’s ok, I’ll drive now.” He played with the GPS a bit more. “According to this we still have another two, no probably more like three hours to drive. Do you think you can handle that?”

Bård had taken a sip of water and it looked like another wave of nausea was hitting him. “I don’t know.” No sooner had he answered, then he had jumped back out of the van and was trying to empty his already empty stomach.

When his stomach had calmed down, Bård managed to get back in the van with Vegard's assistance, this time on the passenger side. Vegard walked around the van and sat in the driver’s seat. Turning around, he grabbed his pillow from where he’d thrown it in the back seat and handed it to Bård. Bård just looked at the proffered pillow. “But I might get sick on it.”

Vegard took a look at his brother and started to realize how sick he was. “Just take it.” Gratefully, Bård took the pillow and leaned against the window hoping that he could just fall asleep. And he did, for all of fifteen minutes before he woke up with a start and begged Vegard to stop the van.

When Bård was able to stand up and get back to the van, Vegard tried to get him to drink a little water, but he couldn’t keep it down. After the third similar quick stop Vegard came to accept that they weren’t going to make it to their destination today either. According to the GPS they were coming up to a town in another five minutes. After that, it would be quite a drive to the next possible stop.

“There’s a village just ahead, Bård. We’ll get a room and try again tomorrow.”

Bård wanted to say no, he wanted to be tougher than the stupid flu, but he couldn’t.

“Ok.” he answered, weakly.

Arriving in town it was smaller than Vegard had anticipated. There didn’t seem to be a hotel around. There was a post office, a gas station, a handful of houses and a small pub. He went in the pub to ask if there was some place nearby where they could find a room.

When he stepped in the pub, he was greeted by a pleasant looking women in her 50’s who was behind the bar.

“Oh, there isn’t a hotel around here. If you’re headed north, it’s another hour to the first hotel.”

Vegard sighed. “I’m travelling with my brother. I’ve been sick and now he’s sick. I was just hoping to stop for the night.”

The woman looked at Vegard, he still looked a little pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. She took pity on him. “We have an extra room upstairs, a guest bedroom. You’re welcome to use it.”

Vegard hesitated. “My brother’s sick….. with the stomach flu. I don’t know if you really want us here.”

“Well, of course I don’t want to get sick, but I don’t want to live in a world where you can’t show a little kindness to people in need.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

Vegard went out to get Bård. He opened Bård’s passenger door. “Come on. We’re going to stay here.”

“Where?” Bård was looking around for a hotel.

“We’ll have a room over the pub for tonight.” Vegard took the pillow out of Bård’s hands and tossed it in the back of the van.

“What about our stuff?” Vegard was helping Bård walk to the pub. He was afraid Bård might fall over if he didn’t. “I’ll come back and get it once I get you inside.”

As they were following their host up the steps, Bård started feeling nauseous again. “What if I get sick. You know, the noise.” He had tried to say it quietly to Vegard who was close to him and holding his arm, but their host couldn’t help overhearing.

“Now don’t you worry about privacy. Your room is over a storage area for the pub and our bedrooms are on front side of the the building.” Reaching the top of the stairs they could see a very cosy looking apartment that ran the length of the pub. Their room, straight ahead off of the stairs, was clean and relatively large with it’s own bathroom but only one bed.

Vegard deposited Bård on the bed. _Beggars can’t be choosers. Other than only having one bed this is perfect._ “Thank you so much for letting us stay here.”

“Yes, thank you.” Bård’s voice sounded raspy and far away. He had already laid down on the bed.

“My name’s Karin, just let me know if you need anything.” She was in the doorway, considerately leaving to give Bård some privacy.

“I’ll be right back, Bård.” Vegard went back down the stairs with Karin leading the way.

“Your brother looks pretty sick, is there anything I can get for him?”

“I don’t know. I am just getting over the same thing. I think mostly he needs to sleep, and to stop throwing up.”

“Are you making sure that he’s getting enough water?”

“I’ve tried to get some into him, but he can’t keep it down.”

“Oh, poor baby.”

Well, I wouldn’t exactly call him that, thought Vegard. However, as bad as he had felt yesterday, he had to admit that Bård looked even worse today.


	2. Chapter 2

Vegard went back outside to grab their bags. He found the last unopened bottle of water in the back of the van and brought that up with him as well. Entering the room he saw that Bård was no longer on the bed, which could only mean one thing. He looked into the bathroom and saw Bård sitting on the floor with his head leaning on the toilet rim. He knelt down next to him and started rubbing his back. Bård moaned. “Why did you have to give me the flu?”

He stood up and went back to their bags to find the last of the bottled water. He came back into the bathroom and tried to hand it to Bård. “Here, you need to try to drink something.”

“I’ll just throw it up again.”

“You’re getting dehydrated. You have to try.” He held out the bottle and almost forced it into Bård's hand.

Obediently, Bård took a sip. His face was in a grimace as he tried to will the water to stay down. He took a few slow, deep breaths to try to calm his stomach. After a few seconds his face relaxed and he opened his eyes, feeling like it was going to stay down. And then his gut clenched and he dove for the toilet.

Over the next couple of hours Bård threw up repeatedly. Of course there wasn’t much left to throw up, but his body was trying none the less. Every fifteen minutes or so Vegard tried to get him to drink some water. Bård would refuse, and then be coerced or cajoled or, in one case, bribed into trying to drink some water. And then he would throw up. Vegard was quite concerned that Bård still couldn’t keep anything down. Bård was understandably irritable and invariably kicked Vegard out of the bathroom.

In between trying to give Bård water, Vegard had made calls to the director to let him know what was happening and to try to reschedule their next shoot. Vegard honestly didn’t know what to tell him when he asked if Bård would be better tomorrow. “I think he has what I had and I’m pretty much over it now, but it’s hit him a lot harder.”

Karin had brought up some bottled water thinking it might help. She also brought some Ibuprofen to help with his fever. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until he could keep some water down. Vegard could tell that part of her motivation was that she was a little curious as to how it was going. But he couldn’t blame her too much, Bård had looked terrible when Vegard helped him up the stairs.

Vegard brought a bottled water in when he next checked on his brother. If possible, Bård looked more pale than he had before. “Here, why don’t you try to take a sip.” He held out the bottled water like you might hold out a piece of raw meat to an injured lion, hoping that he wouldn’t bite your head off.

Bård was too exhausted to be cranky anymore. He was almost too exhausted to lift his arm up and take the bottled water. Vegard tried, as he had before, to comfort him a bit. He knelt down and put his arm on Bård’s shoulder trying to coax him into sipping from the bottle. “I can’t. It won’t stay down. I can’t do it.”

Vegard didn’t have the heart to push him more right now. He couldn’t remember when he’d seen Bård quite so despondent. He sat down against the wall and pulled Bård over to lean against him like a back rest. Bård didn’t resist. He didn’t say anything. He barely let out a whimper. Bård’s head had landed just under his brother’s chin and he leaned it against Vegard’s left arm which he had draped over Bård’s chest.

“Are you comfortable?” Bård barely nodded and let out a small sound. Vegard wondered how he would get Bård to the hospital if he had to. If he didn’t start keeping water down it was a real possibility. Putting his hand to Bård's forehead he found it was disturbingly hot. _Why did I keep driving when I knew he was sick? Now we’re practically in the middle of nowhere._

People had died from this. Bård had told him that last night. He had just assumed it was only the elderly or people who were already sick with something else, but if you couldn’t keep water down it could be anyone. He looked at the bottled water that was sitting next to them. Should he push the water again or should he wait a little bit longer? He decided that as much as he didn’t want to upset Bård more, he really had to try to get him to drink some water.

He held the bottle up. “Can you drink a little bit?” Bård shook his head. “Come on, just a little bit.” He heard Bård let out a sigh, or maybe it was more of a moan. “Vegard...no...”

“Please, I’m just trying to take care of you….” One more time Bård took a sip and one more time it wouldn’t stay down.

At least this time he didn’t kick Vegard out of the bathroom, instead he leaned back into his brother. It was soft and warm and comforting and the only thing that was making this night bearable. Vegard put his arm back over him, protectively, and this time Bård placed his hand weakly on Vegard’s arm.

Vegard decided that if Bård couldn’t keep anything down in within the hour they were going to have to drive to the hospital or maybe call for an ambulance, he wasn’t really sure what he was going to do. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time, then he placed it on the floor so he’d be able to keep track.

Fifteen minutes later, Vegard woke to Bård pushing against him, trying to sit up and then throwing up into the toilet again. He looked at his phone, wondering if he should really wait another forty-five minutes. When the nausea had passed, Bård looked back at Vegard. “I woke you up didn’t I? You’re sick too, you should go to bed.”

“That’s ok, I want to stay here.” He reached over and gently pulled Bård back.

“You’re such a good brother, you …. _something mumbled_ …” Bård slumped against him.

Vegard wrapped his arms around his little brother, trying to comfort him. “I didn’t hear all of that, Bård.”

Bård turned over onto his side and nestled into Vegard. “You deserve a better brother.”

Vegard let out a small laugh. “What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t take care of you like this. You're always better to me than I am to you. You deserve a better brother. ” He wrapped his arms around Vegard’s arm partly to hug him and partly because he was cold.

“Bård, that’s silly. You’re a good brother.” Vegard reached up with his free arm and brushed some hair out of Bård’s face.

“No…I’m not….not really.....I’m sorry....” Vegard couldn't tell for sure, but he thought that he was crying.

“I think you don’t know what you’re saying.” He thought that maybe this was another sign of his dehydration or fever, or both. “I love you. I don’t want a different brother.” He hugged Bård and tried to reassure him. “You **are** a good brother.” He rested his cheek on Bård’s head and closed his eyes.

The next thing he knew, an hour and fifteen minutes had passed. He wasn’t sure what had woken him up, but he felt relieved that Bård hadn’t been sick for a while. As much as he hated to disturb him, he knew he needed to wake Bård up and try to get some water into him. “Bård, wake up. ”

“What?” Bård sounded groggy and confused.

“You haven’t thrown up for over an hour. You need to try to drink some water.” Vegard found the water bottle that he’d been trying to get Bård to drink from and once again held it up for Bård.

Bård was sleepy but he was awake enough to remember his numerous unsuccessful attempts at keeping water down. “I don’t want to.”

Vegard hated having to be the one who was making Bård drink water and then be sick over and over again, but he knew that Bård needed to start keeping some fluids down or he would be in real danger. “I know.” He held up the water bottle to Bård’s lips. “Just give it a try.” Bård was way past being able to argue about it. He took a sip and leaned back against Vegard. He started shivering, so Vegard reached up and grabbed a bath towel off of the towel rack and covered Bård with it.

After a few minutes had passed and the water stayed down, Vegard held the water bottle up again. “Ok. Have a little more.”

 

* * *

 

When Vegard was satisfied that he had gotten a few ounces of water into his brother, he convinced Bård that he was well enough to move away from the toilet.

Bård fell into bed. He couldn’t remember a softer feeling pillow. He was so comfortable, he was already enjoying the thought of hours of peaceful sleep. “Do we have to get up early tomorrow to drive?”

“No. Don’t worry about that. We’re going to sleep.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey, knock it off!” Vegard had woken up suddenly when Bård’s arm landed on his face.  He removed the arm and was about to lay into Bård when he remembered where he was and how sick Bård had been. Bård was sound asleep. Reaching over to check his temperature, he noted that Bård was still pretty hot but seemed to be sleeping well. Vegard decided to try to get more sleep.

 

* * *

 

Vegard was lying in bed playing with his phone when Bård finally woke up. He was still very pale but his eyes looked a little brighter. Vegard reflexively felt his forehead again to see if he was hot. He knew right away that Bård still felt awful, otherwise his hand would have been swatted away. “You should drink some water.” Vegard got out of bed to grab a water bottle and the ibuprofen. “Do you think you can swallow these pills?”

His throat was sore from being sick so many times, but he knew that he might feel better if he could get them down. “I’ll try.” He sat up. Vegard handed him the water bottle and a couple of pills. Bård winced as he swallowed the pills, but he got them down. He seemed to visibly pale just before he quickly laid back down.

Vegard took the water bottle out of his hands and set it down. “Are you ok? It looked like that made you feel worse.” 

“I felt really dizzy when I sat up.” Bård was keeping his eyes closed, avoiding having to look at the spinning room.

“Are you feeling nauseous again?” He tried to mask the concern in his voice.

“No, but I still ache all over and this headache just won’t go away.” As soon as he'd said that, he felt Vegard’s hand on his forehead again, this time just to massage it.

“The headache could be from being dehydrated. You have to drink a lot of water today.” As he spoke, he was making a plan as to how much water he should try to get Bård drink per hour today. It made him feel slightly better having something to think about that he could control.

“How soon do we have to leave? Do we have to interview someone today?” Vegard was suddenly reminded that he still needed to call the director and tell him that there was no way they'd be there today.

“Well, I have to go down and ask Karin, but I’m hoping we can stay here one more day. Otherwise we’ll just drive to the closest hotel and rest there.” He could see the furrow in Bård’s brow had relaxed.

“Really?” He and Vegard had pretty much lived and died by the credo 'the show must go on' for years, but he couldn’t remember a time when he felt less capable of continuing on than right now.

“You need some rest.” Vegard rubbed his brow one last time and stood up to get dressed.

Bård’s eyes remained closed even though the head massage was over. “Thanks for taking care of me.” 

“You’re welcome.” Vegard looked over at his little brother and felt a surge of affection.

“I’m sorry I didn’t take care of you as well." 

“What are you talking about? You took care of me when I was sick.” Vegard continued to get dressed, pulling a clean sweater out of his bag.

“I didn’t even stay with you when we got to the hotel the other night, I left you and went down to get dinner.” It was hard to tell if Vegard was even listening, he was still looking for something in his bag.

“Well, I wasn’t as sick as you were last night.” He pulled out a pair of wool socks and sat at the end of the bed to put them on.

Bård's voice got very quiet. “I just think... sometimes.... that you deserve a better brother.”

Vegard turned to face Bård. “Don’t start that again. I thought you were delirious from a fever when you said that last night.”

Bård was looking at him like he wanted to say more, but couldn’t.

“Listen, Bård, I don’t want a different brother, I just got you broken in.” Vegard hoped that a little joke would change the mood.

“Not just different, better." He looked away, feeling a little embarrassed by his own honesty.

“Come on….” Vegard wanted to say that he thought Bård might regret saying that later when he was feeling better, but Bård still looked too sick to tease. Vegard sighed. He came over and sat down on the edge of the bed by Bård. “Hey.” He squeezed Bård’s shoulder. “Hey look at me.” Bård looked up. Vegard saw that his eyes were a little watery. “I love you. And I love having you as my brother. Don’t tell me I would rather have someone else as a brother. It’s not true.”

“Ok….” Bård didn’t look like he totally believed it. “I still think you’re better at taking care of me.”

“Maybe I’ve just had more practice.”  Somehow his brother, who normally was so self-sufficient and self-assured, always seemed to revert to being the little brother when he was sick. He thought that maybe he should be a little annoyed by that, but he found it sort of endearing. He tousled Bård's hair and left to call the director and talk to Karin.

The director was frustrated with how long the film crew had been waiting for the brothers, but agreed to reschedule the interviews once again. What could he do? They were already so far north and only twenty minutes away from  two of the people that they needed to interview. He was just happy that he had an unopened bottle of akevitt in the back of the van. That would keep everyone happy. If he could win back some of the money he lost in last night's poker game, today wouldn't be a total loss.

 

* * *

 

Karin had generously agreed to let them stay another night. While Bård slept the rest of the morning, Vegard did some work on his laptop.  About noon Bård woke up and asked for some water. Thinking he still felt quite warm, Vegard decided to go and ask Karin for a thermometer. "I want to know what your temperature actually is."

"Does it make a difference?" The idea of being prodded sounded annoying. If there was a way to discourage it, he thought he should try.

"I suppose if I'd known how high your temperature was last night I might have dragged you to the hospital." _And I probably should have._

"I'm glad you didn't have one then."  Bård felt just well enough that he didn't want to have to go to a doctor, much less the hospital.

Vegard rubbed his face in his hands. _He appreciates me taking care of him one minute and wants me to leave him alone the next. I can't win._ "You still seem really hot. I just want to monitor your temperature."

 _Isn't that just so Vegard, only trusting empirical evidence._ "I'm getting better. Stop worrying."

"I'm not worrying, I'm just trying to take care of you. Would you really prefer me to ignore you?" He gave Bård an irritated look.

Bård looked away and was silent for a while and then he quietly said, "You know what I meant." 

Vegard was already on his way out the door. "I'll be right back." Vegard left and, out of frustration, the door closed rather loudly behind him.

Sitting in the silence of their room alone, Bård almost felt like crying.  He was so tired and he still felt like crap and now he had just offended Vegard. _I wish he understood that he doesn't have to do anything to take care of me, he just has to be here._

He decided that he'd better at least drink some water, as Vegard had instructed, and found that the bottled water on the nightstand was empty. Thinking that if he could avoid annoying Vegard for the next hour or so they wouldn't have to talk about the last exchange they'd had, he decided to get his own water from the sink in the bathroom.

* * *

 

"We're in luck, she had one......Bård?” Vegard stopped in the doorway as he surveyed the room and saw no Bård. He walked over to the closed bathroom door.

 “Bård are you in there? Are you ok?”

 silence...

"Hey, Bård!" _Come on, don't give me the silent treatment._

 silence...

 "Answer or I’m coming in!"

 silence…

 Vegard pushed the door open slowly and found Bård on the floor. “Bård!” His heart jumped up into his throat.

 “Bård.” He shook Bård gently.

 “Uhhh.” Bård looked white as a blank page. "What happened?"

 “You must have passed out.” Vegard felt a mixture of relief and annoyance. “I can’t leave you alone for a second.”

 “Very funny, Vegard.” Bård tried to sit up but needed some help. Vegard was looking him over, probably for new wounds, Bård thought. _I suppose he’s going to make a big deal out of this._

 “Were you in here to throw up?” He could see that Vegard was worried again and he honestly felt bad about that.

 “No, I was thirsty and all the bottled water was gone.” He pointed to the sink and the glass that he hadn’t gotten to yet.

 “No, there are more bottles on ....” He sighed. “Nevermind.” Vegard stood back up and leaned over to pull Bård back up to his feet. “Listen, you still have a fever and you’re really dehydrated, let me help you the next time you decide to get up.”

 Bård started to feel dizzy again as he got up on his feet. “Well don’t wander off and leave me alone then.” He leaned pretty heavily on Vegard.

 “Pffff….Wander off….” Vegard snickered and helped Bård to find his balance. “You could have hit your head and needed stitches or worse. Do you know how far we are from the closest hospital?”

 “Can you just help me back to the bed? Aren’t I sick enough to get a free pass on the scolding?”

 “Yes. Yes, I suppose you are.”  Vegard helped Bård get back to the bed. “Here..." He walked over to grab a new bottle. "Here’s a bottled water. There are a few more over here on the table. But you’re going to let me get them for you...right?”

 “Mmhmm.” 

Vegard found the thermometer that he had hastily set down when he found Bård on the floor.  Bård was happy to see that it was a digital ear thermometer. He sat quietly and without objection allowed Vegard to take his temperature. "So, am I going to live?"

"Well, you're not going to die from your fever, it's 100.4." Vegard still looked a bit annoyed, but there was a softness to his voice.  "But, I can't promise that I'm not going to kill you if you don't stop being such a brat." 

"I'm sorry. You know I appreciate you..."  Bård's sincerity was obvious and Vegard rubbed his arm realizing he had probably overreacted a bit. “Now, at the risk of losing my Brother-of-the-Year award...I’m kind of hungry. Will you be ok if I go downstairs and eat something?”

 A little embarrassed by the reminder of what he had said earlier, Bård tried to make a joke out of it. “I don’t know,” he said teasingly.

 “So, drink lots of water and don’t get out of bed. Got it?” Vegard was in full big brother mode now.

 A mischievous look crossed his face. “If I drink a lot of water I might need to get out of bed.”

Vegard laughed. "Well, cross your legs 'til I get back." 

"Fine. I'll cross them, over on your side of the bed." 

 “You’re impossible.” Vegard laughed. “We’ve got these new things...mobile phones. Here’s yours. Call me before you get up for _anything_ , ok? I don't want to find you on the floor again.”

 Bård was smiling a bit, enjoying the banter. “Alright, fine. I thought we agreed that I was too sick to scold.” Vegard ignored that.

 “So, to sum up ...drink water...don’t get up….call me if you need something.”

 “Maybe you should write that down for me.” Vegard tried unsuccessfully to give Bård a stern look but he couldn’t help but laugh at the impish look in his eyes.

“I don’t understand how your smart alecky self is feeling so much better when you still have a fever, but I hope that’s a good sign.”

* * *

The afternoon was basically slept away by Bård and by dinner time he was feeling a little hungry. He and Vegard made their way down to the pub to eat something for dinner. Karin was more relieved than she had a right to be that Bård was feeling better. She obviously felt some ownership in his well being, and Vegard thought she was more than a little nosy about it. But then this was a small town and the social norms were a little different here. Everyone knew what everyone else was doing. He did appreciate that she was willing to make just about anything that Bård might want to eat. Somehow, eggs and toast sounded better to him than anything on the dinner menu. 

The next morning they got up at around eight. Their first interview wasn't scheduled until one o'clock, so they had time for a leisurely breakfast. Bård actually looked better today, which wasn't so much the case even last night. The color in his cheeks had returned and he didn't seem to be concentrating on his balance when he was walking down the stairs. Vegard chided himself for being such a caretaker when it came to Bård, for watching everything so closely. He could understand why Bård often pushed back against it. But sometimes his brother didn't take care of himself, so he felt somewhat justified in keeping an eye on him. "Hello. Helloooo...anybody home." Bård had been talking about something and had just noticed that Vegard was not listening. 

"Sorry. Just thinking about our day." Vegard looked up and straight into Bård's eyes. 

Bård attempted to look hurt. "Maybe I was telling you something of urgent importance."

He looked skeptical. "Were you?"

"I guess you'll never know." Bård leaned back against his seat, arms crossed, with half a smile as if he had a secret. 

Oh, you feel like playing? "Perhaps you were talking about finishing up the paperwork for my Brother-of-the-Year award."

"Shut up." He's cheeks were starting to feel a bit warm with embarrassment. 

"I hear it's a beautiful ceremony with the statuette being awarded by the nominating sibling."

"Shut up!" Against his will Bård started laughing.

 It was obviously making Bård a bit uncomfortable, but he was having too much fun to stop. "I'm really looking forward to it."

"Shut up! Besides, I didn't say anything about you getting some imaginary award. I said...."  He looked away. _Oh shit! I didn't want it to go here._ He looked back at Vegard, who was waiting expectantly for him to finish. _I guess I have to say it._  "...I should... be... better."

Vegard paused. He was a little surprised Bård had actually said that. "Better? Do you mean that you should be nicer to me?" 

"Yeah, I guess." _Jerk! You're really enjoying this._

Vegard took mercy on his brother. "Like, not telling me to shut up?"

He laughed and answered the way he knew Vegard had just set him up to answer. "Shut up!" Now they were both enjoying the game.

"You may need to work a little harder at changing." Vegard laughed, shaking his head.

Chuckling, Bård replied, "Yeah, I think it's going to be a long road."

 

 


End file.
